And a Happy New year
by nannygirl
Summary: An hour into the new decade, Red finds a hiding Jackie who's struggling to move forward from what had been one of the worst years of her life. Pure FamilyFluff.


_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own That '70s Show or any of its characters. I own nothing!_

_**Author's Note: **__Happy 2020 Everyone! Past year, especially the second half of it had been very busy over here and I haven't devoted as much time to fanfic I would like to. I'm definitely gonna try to squeeze it in some more this year. And to kick it off here's a little piece I thought up and wrote out on New Years Eve Eve. Hope you like it, please don't forget to review if you have the time, thanks for reading, and please, Enjoy!_

* * *

**And a Happy New Year**

_January 1, 1980_

_1:24 AM_

"Oh crap," Red groaned as he stepped into the kitchen and instantly spotted the Burkhart girl sitting at his table. "Isn't there a single room in this house that isn't occupied by one of your dumbasses? Even my own bedroom has got an old hippie passed out in there."

Jackie wrinkled her nose, "You should probably buy some new sheets."

"More like a whole new bed," Red muttered as he made his way to the table.

His usual seat was still available, the girl at least had the decency to leave his stuff alone and she even shared a similar viewpoint on finding the hippie in his and Kitty's room. She had always been the smart one in his book, the smart but _loud_ one; which made her current isolated state so puzzling.

"So why aren't you out there making a mess and eating all our food like the rest of the freeloaders?" he came right out and asked.

"It was getting kind of rowdy," she replied with a small shrug. "I guess I just needed some time to myself, some quiet time."

Red's brows rose in surprise. "You? The Loud One?"

"Sometimes loud needs quiet too," argued Jackie.

"Mmhmm," was all Red could say since she hadn't done too well of a job convincing him.

They sat in silence for just a moment before Jackie turned to look at Red and let words tumble out like confetti out of a bucket.

"Mr. Forman, is it bad if you go into the New Year still holding onto your regrets from the old year? Because I have _a lot_ of them."

"Oh jeeze," he threw his head back; he knew The Loud One becoming the quiet one was too far fetched to true. And now she was asking about regrets? It was too early in day, hell, too early in the year to be talking about that kind of crap.

He heaved out a heavy sigh, hoping he could wrap this up quick. "Look Jackie, you're only seventeen."

"I'm nineteen, I'll be twenty this year," she corrected him promptly.

For a brief moment, Red paused and just stared at girl sitting beside him. How did it seem like it was just a few weeks go that they were out in his garage and he was showing her how to change a tire? He quickly shook his head from thoughts that didn't matter now.

"The point is," he continued on, "you're still too young to have _a lot_ of regrets. Especially any that are serious enough to bring into the next year."

"I can if I've made a bunch of wrong choices, which I have," Jackie began to explain. "Like Chicago."

Again, Red sighed, a little quieter this time because he knew how Chicago had drastically changed things for the girl. "Listen, I know I wasn't on board with the idea of you going out there but…"

"I should've stayed, I shouldn't have come back," she said shaking her head. "When I came back that's when everything went wrong and last year became the worst year of my life. I not only lost Steven to a stripper but I gave up my dream job for a deadbeat job of sweeping up gross pieces of hair! These kinds of things shouldn't happen to Burkharts." There was a pause and when Jackie spoke again her voice was softer. "You know, I've thought about trying again and moving out Point Place."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, but that's probably all it'll ever be, a thought," Jackie seemed to scoff at her words, showing how little she believed in them. "If I moved out of Point Place now, I wouldn't have a job offer like when I went to Chicago, I'd be completely on my own. Alone…I don't like being alone."

"And," Jackie paused midsentence and stared at Red carefully, like she was trying to determine if she could trust him with some dark secret of hers. She drew in deep breath, "I think that's part of why I was so determined to start dating Fez. I was afraid to spend another year alone."

Red had no problem keeping secrets, usually because he cared so little about them after heard them, he would forget about them before he could repeat them. He didn't plan on repeating this secret to others, but he didn't feel like he could ignore it either.

"First of all, being alone is no reason to start dating a foreigner," Red firmly told her, pointing a stern finger in Jackie's direction. "Especially one who caused my heart attack."

"Secondly, if you spend time in this house you're never alone, trust me on this, I've tried," he said getting a small giggle out of her. "You dumbasses should know by now that if you ever need anything you've got Kitty and… and she'll always be there for you."

Jackie stared at him with big brown eyes, waiting for him to continue. It was like she knew he had more to say and wasn't going to leave till he said it.

After clearing his throat and shifting in his seat, Red spoke again. "And since I'm retired now, I'll be around some more too now."

"Thanks Mr. Forman," she gave him a smile that he nodded back at.

"I know things still seem pretty grim, but you had a hell of a year last year, it's not gonna suddenly turn all sparkly and shiny just because some oversized glowing ball dropped at midnight," Red went on to say. "But if you give it some time and you work at it, this could be your year, kid."

"Oh my God!" Jackie's eyes lit up like that oversized glowing New Years ball. "Mr. Forman, you're right. 1980 could be my year. It could be The Year of Jackie! No, wait, The Decade of Jackie!" She held her hands out before as if the words were printed in the air, then she giggled happily. "What do you think?"

Red shrugged, "It's got a nice ring to it."

Her smile stayed in place. "You know Mr. Forman, I may've already said this to Mrs. Forman but I'm really glad you aren't moving to Florida. I'd miss you."

"Yeah, well," Red couldn't help but smirk. "Out of all the dumbasses, you'd be the one I'd be the least happy to leave."

**The End**

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A bit of a mix? Please, be sure to let me know in a review! Thank you again for reading!_

_Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day! _


End file.
